earnestly
adverb
ear·nest·ly
ˈər-nəst-lē 
: in an earnest and serious manner : not lightly, casually, or flippantly
speaking earnestly
asking earnestly for forgiveness
providing the relief that they had earnestly hoped for
She spoke so earnestly, with such emotion in her voice, that Omakayas was always to remember that moment …—
Louise Erdrich
Louise ErdrichThey sing contemporary R&B earnestly, like they borrowed it and want to return it in better condition than when they got it.—Danyel Smith
Danyel SmithExamples of earnestly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These efforts actively provide security for the fishing season and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests, as well as the lives and property, of Chinese fishermen—including those from the Taiwan region.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
Rather than earnestly leaning into the melodrama, the show constantly undercuts its emotional moments with a punchline, which quickly becomes more exhausting than charming.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 17 Nov. 2025
Watts is playing everything earnestly, while Kardashian barely registers.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025
But when Neon bought the film just before its world premiere — and later injected roughly $1 million into reshoots that don’t improve the story much — Stuckmann’s scrappy underdog became a mainstream Frankenstein’s monster some horror fans earnestly wanted to watch fail.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 31 Oct. 2025
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Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
Rather than earnestly leaning into the melodrama, the show constantly undercuts its emotional moments with a punchline, which quickly becomes more exhausting than charming.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 17 Nov. 2025
Watts is playing everything earnestly, while Kardashian barely registers.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025
But when Neon bought the film just before its world premiere — and later injected roughly $1 million into reshoots that don’t improve the story much — Stuckmann’s scrappy underdog became a mainstream Frankenstein’s monster some horror fans earnestly wanted to watch fail.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for earnestly
Cite this Entry
“Earnestly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earnestly. Accessed 7 Dec. 2025.
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